Theodore Worth "Ted" Tucker

Ted Tucker “kicked the bucket” this week, and those were his preferred words.

Ted’s early years were in Rochester, NY., the son of the Architect Cyril Tucker and Betty Tucker. There he had a small machine shop where he was a gunsmith with an extensive collection of modern and antique firearms. He was an avid hunter and always fond of shooting sports which served him well as an Infantry Officer in WWII and an Ordinance Officer in the Korean War. He helped develop the Corporal Missile at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California in the latter. 

He graduated from The University of Rochester with a Master of Engineering in 1951. For his thesis, he cast, machined, and produced a unique “Stratified Charge” engine and then went to MIT to study Nuclear Engineering. 

While there, he began the hand construction of his small one-level house near Lincoln, MA, to receive his machine shop and collections. His house avoided stairs, which became a problem in later years. This he worked on alone over weekends and evenings, and there is a bronze plaque on this in the northeast corner. At the latter stage, in the fall, he invited Bobbi Howe to build the left side of the brick fireplace. She was so enthusiastic, and they married in December 1955.

He enjoyed thinking about his house as like that done by the “bower bird,” which, as you know, ties some tall grass together to make a resting site for trinkets. When he has deposited enough shiny things to convince the lady bower bird to consider him viable, she stays. In this case, it may have been the fresh, well water gushing out of the ground or those fireplace bricks. 

He erected a full Blacksmith Shop for the new house hardware, which became a thriving business and school. He taught the Smiths at Sturbridge and Shelbourne Village and the Centers for Adult Education. For a text he wrote, “Practical Projects for the Blacksmith,” which is available at Blue Moon Publishers and is translated in several languages at Rodale. It always pleased him to supply artistic hardware from the village of Smithy. 

His engineering work was varied: At Concord Control, Inc., he developed a large Cartographic System for the Army and Navy. From Instrumentation Laboratory, he holds several patents in High Vacuum Technology.

At L3 Communications, he was the project engineer of the first deep space camera from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, MICAS. It was made all from silicon carbide ceramic. Another of his space camera designs was for New Horizons for Johns Hopkins. It was launched for Pluto and was also made of silicon carbide. The preliminary wooden model he made is on the shelf at home. 

Ted was a professional watercolor artist and a sculptor, and his portraits in bronze still sell. One unique example of children’s art can be seen in the book, “Fast Concrete Critters” at Amazon. His website is WoodWaterIron.com. For a good reason, he has been called a Renaissance Man. 

One of the things that pleased him was being able, at age 92, to turn in a winning .45 pistol target score of 99, with 4X’s. That’s the size of a Ritz Cracker at 50 feet. 

Ted forged the ironwork for the Codman Farm in Lincoln: Handles, sign supports, and large hinges, all with some motif involved. Throughout the Town of Lincoln, there are examples of signs and railings that he made.

He said he looks forward to an afterlife that will re-sort his worldly chemicals into something useful. Given the choice, Ted prefers a blue or red dragonfly. It rests calmly on the back of the hand, finally lifting off on a complex aerial mission. It eats mosquitoes and is not a pest as it charms every one who sees it. 

His wife, Bobbi, passed away in 2019. She was the daughter of Arthur and Marcia Howe from Hastings-on-the-Hudson, NY. She went to Colby College in New Hampshire.

He leaves behind three children: Jesse married to Sarah, lives in Duxbury with his daughter Lindel. Jesse owns a sales and marketing firm. Sarah is a handwriting examiner with Pentec, Inc. in Bloomfield, Michigan. Lindel is an accomplished equestrian and alpine skier and is very active in 4H, showing her goats. Lincoln lives at the family property and is a guitarist and chef. 
Jennifer is married to Tom Perley in Madbury, NH, with a son, Sam. She is a part-time nurse and a volunteer firefighter. Her husband, Tom, owns Perley Technical Service and is an Emmy-winning broadcast engineer for NBC Olympic sporting events worldwide. Sam is a certified chimney sweep, EMT, and firefighter and enjoys restoring antique cars. 

All the children were taught how to use tools and firearms safely. They know how to cut with a table saw and an acetylene torch. 

Services for Ted were private.

Donations in his memory may be made to a charity of your choice.



Arrangements under the care of Concord Funeral Home, 74 Belknap Street, Concord, MA 01742  978-369-3388  www.concordfuneral.com